There Are No Words
by Time Was Frozen Today
Summary: As Vale burns around her, Neo finds her own world crumbling.


**Disclaimer:** RWBY and all related characters belong to Rooster Teeth.

* * *

 _"Neo!"_

He had called out my name...

I should be mad, that little goody-two-shoes having sent me for a wild ride. I should be ticked off, my cute little weapon of choice being turned against me. I should be fuming, the winds my only guide as I hang on to my umbrella tight as can be. I should be feeling all of the above but I just can't.

He had called out my name. He was worried about me.

It's a silly little thing for me to get so worked up about, feelings like this simply unbecoming of someone of my stature. Yeah, yeah, Emerald would have a giggle at that statement, but forget it. What I lack in height I make up for in being a bad ass. Awesome things can come in small packages, got it?

But that's the rub. Why am I getting so flighty over the boss expressing any worry for little ol' me? Yeah, we get along, but it was just a business relationship, right? Partners in crime, sticking our necks out for each other (even if I was the one doing the bulk of the nape baring).

Why, oh why am I so caught up in such a simple gesture? Yeah, I made a bit of a boo-boo not being aware of my surroundings and all. Cut me a break, nobody's used my own umbrella against me before! Seriously, I didn't expect much from that snot-nosed brat but I guess Ruby finally put her big girl pants on. Hopefully it's a good fit; I got my doubts to be honest. I guess only time will tell.

But really, Roman had no reason to freak. I've survived worse, something he knows better than anyone else. Well except for me, even if I wish that wasn't the case. But let's be real here, a little fall like this is nothing to me.

Well okay, so the Grimm that make up these unfriendly skies are going to be a teensy bit of a pain in the butt, not gonna lie. I can see one already starting to take notice of me and frankly that just bugs me. I like attention as much as the next fair maiden with multi-colored hair, but these ugly mofos just aren't my type. Thankfully one well-placed kick to the beak of the Grimm is enough to make it back up and back off.

Again, seriously, this little trip down to terra firma isn't a big deal, not as long as I got my handy dandy umbrella and my wits about me. So there really wasn't any reason for Torchwick to freak out like he did.

But... he cares. His little panic attack just means he cares and that's making my heart all a flutter for some reason.

Reality is tugging at my senses, trying to make me concentrate on the here and now. I can feel it, the wind slipping through the locks of my hair as my body dances helplessly through the night sky, my umbrella bringing me down in a slow descent. But these physical sensations mean nothing compared to what I'm feeling within. It's no secret, my heart is beating within my breast. It's screaming for freedom, screaming for me to speak up.

I'm not scared, nope. I just... why am I acting like a schoolgirl with a crush? This is stupid! Am I worried about him? Is that it? No... No... Torchwick can handle himself, I know it. He's just alone up there with that would-be huntress, all those Grimm and...

I can't do anything from here, not like this. An attitude meant for a Negative Nancy won't do me any good. It'll just draw the surrounding Grimm to me. Like moths to a flame that'll kick their butts if they try anything funny. But why makes things hard on myself?

I just need to get down to the ground and find some way back up to the fight. I'll back Torchwick up like I always have. Shoulder to shoulder, back to back, fighting in perfect symmetry. We'll live to see another day, just like we always have. Whatever the hell it takes; lying, cheating and stealing all the way. We'll see this through.

After all, we have to. We both have nothing to gain but everything to lo-

Hey, back off! Stupid Grimm, getting a little too close for my comfort. Nothing an elbow strike to the face can't dissuade but it's annoying anyways. For pity's sake, can't a free-falling girl have some personal airspace?

My fingers continues to hold tightly to the handle of my umbrella and I can't help but glance up at it. For reasons I don't even dare to understand my perception begins to change, a dangerous occurrence with so many Grimm around me. But there it is anyway, something real but not in this place and time. A familiar face looking down upon me with some level of contentment, the voice that belongs to it begrudgingly singing my praises. Then a hand reaches out, a gift in its palm meant for me and me alone.

An umbrella, cute as can be, but nothing more. I can feel it then, the moment of dissatisfaction giving away quickly as I take note of the extra switch upon it, one that quickly leads to a concealed blade extending from the top of the adorable little umbrella. Even back then, when I was younger yet no less short, Torchwick knew so very well my intimate relationship with violence.

 _"Cute, isn't it? Bet nobody will expect it to have that killer surprise hidden away. It suits you perfectly, Neo."_

My name again, his voice speaking it, even if just in the past. It shouldn't take hold of my attention so roughly but it won't let up, not now. My wits are about me despite that distraction, my eyes glancing down to see a grassy field coming into view.

I begin to brace my body for the impact, hoping for a reasonable landing. However my thoughts are in another time and place still, leaving my body to fend for itself. I'm a pro, always have been, so that's hardly a problem. I've been known to eat ice cream and walk at the same time; it isn't that hard. Seriously, honestly. My body can run on autopilot all it wants while my mind focuses on other things.

Going down was one thing, but I had to think of a way to get back up to Torchwick. Nothing else mattered. Nothing else at all.

My feet made contact with the grassy knoll then, my body compensating for the less than ideal landing. I begin to pitch forward, all but dropping to my knees as I start to roll forward. Instinct and physicality, these are my greatest strengths. I roll up into a standing position, trying to close my umbrella. Unfortunately it is being uncooperative. I guess the unforgiving winds were just that, unforgiving. But I'm persistent. A little shaking, a little hands on action and I show my weapon and rain shield of choice who's boss.

But that still isn't my biggest concern. No, something else is keeping a hold on my heart. I withdraw from my pants' pocket something of need, my only hope for answers. Staring at the scroll, my thumb begins to run across it, letter after letter coming into view on the screen, illuminating the night around me. I hit send then, staring at my message to the big boss man.

 _ **My bad. Coming right up.**_

There's no response. That... should just annoy me. But not now. No, something else is wrong, isn't it? I begin to work my magic again, quicker and to the point.

 _ **You okay?**_

And there's still no response. Now my body is beginning to act of its own accord again, my thumb moving faster than even my own thoughts are.

 _ **come on answer!**_

Seconds pass, my scroll making no sound in response. I start typing again, not even sure what I am sending. Only when I hit send do I even see what it was.

 _ **please**_

I'm just staring, staring at the screen and nothing more. I can feel it, my ears desperate to perk up at the sound of the scroll, my hand yearning to feel the vibration of an incoming text message. But there's nothing.

Damn it! There's nothing!

That's when I finally notice it. I had stopped breathing, my body screaming at me to exhale and breathe back in again. I allow it to happen but other things occur then without my blessing.

I can feel it, something very wrong with my eyes. They were shifting in color without my permission, leaving me unsure of what they even looked like now. But that was the least of it. There was something else there, something I hadn't felt in such a long time.

I wipe a hand across my eyes, unwilling to allow myself such emotion. I'm not that scared little girl who lost it all. She's gone, something new standing in her place. Something better, something stro-

That sound.

That sound!

I look down at my scroll, my heart threatening to free itself from my chest once more. However my heart beat quickly steadies, nothing of value on the screen.

 _ **ice cream head, whats going on up there? torchwicks not answering**_

I can't take my eyes off the message from Emerald, all the while I can feel their colors shifting again. To what I don't know.

And I don't care.

I send a message back, quick and to the point, my dismissal of the question my choice alone.

 _ **Don't know. Not up there anymore.**_

I pocket the scroll then, completely uninterested in anything else Emerald has to 'say.' It doesn't matter, not now. Maybe not ever. All that does matter is what she said. If she felt the need to ask what was wrong, then...

No.

No. No, no, no...

I turn around then, my eyes widening and no doubt going white as I see exactly what made Emerald reach out to me.

In that moment I I wish I hadn't looked.

The airship was descending, a fire raging across what I knew to be the control room. Was Torchwick and the Ruby girlie still fighting up there?

No, he's fine. He has to be. He won, she's-

She's escaping to the ground. She's breaking all physics as I know them, but she's making it down to the ground with ease. Like I care. Like I give a damn. Where's Torchwick? Where the hell is he?

I begin to strain my eyes, hoping and praying to see him making a hasty retreat just as that Ruby kid is. But I don't see him. I don't see anything to care about. Just that kid and the Grimm.

Where? Where is he? Torchwick, just... just give me a sign! Please! I look higher then, trying to ignore the flames atop the airship. But I don't see him anywhere. He's got to be up there. He's got to be there so that I can go save-

My world crumbles.

The sky simply lights up before me, explosions consuming the airship as it collapses upon Vale. Then, as quickly as it had come into existence, the light faded, leaving me alone in the darkness. It's the same within me as it is outside my body.

Darkness begins to falls, the light extinguishing.

My body is no longer responding on impulse, on instinct. No, it's completely under my control and all I can do is take one tentative step forward, reaching out to the horizon with my right hand. Then I take another step, then another and another, each one decreasing in distance crossed.

I can't... I can't go on any further. Not like this, not without-

No. He's a survivor. We're both survivors. I'm going to see him again. Nothing will change that. Not Ruby Rose, not Beacon, not the Grimm. Not even Cinder if that's the problem!

I begin to move forward then, only to hear the sound of my scroll once more. I fumble for it in a hurry, unable to truly understand what is going on with me. I look at the screen then, hoping for a ray of light amidst the dark.

 _ **neopolition, you okay?**_

My full name... Complete. But it's not Torchwick. It's not, it's just Emerald again. I should be happy with this if nothing else but...

I begin to reply, my thumb shaking as it moves across the screen. But then I delete the short message, replacing it with the complete opposite. Another deletion, another new message. Over and over again it continues.

I can't... I can't make up my mind. My hand is shaking. My whole body is shaking. My heart, my soul. Everything is... is...

I type one last reply and send it through, my hesitation lost.

 _ **No.**_

I pocket the scroll again, making sure to turn it off this time. There is no hope, is there? I won't see his words, I won't hear his voice.

No! I won't... I won't accept that. Not now, not ever!

My body begins to move once more, instinct and emotion becoming one and the same. Time and space becomes drowned out then, the world around me meaningless as I continue to move forward. The past, the present, it doesn't matter. All I care about is the future that awaits before me. The destination that lies before my sight is the only thing left to me now.

Then, before I know it, I found myself within the city itself, my legs quivering as I walk across the remains of the airship. I begin to look around, desperate for any sign of life.

Then I get one. It was crawling out from the fiery remnant of the ship's bridge. A Grimm. Not Torchwick but a damned Grimm.

It needs to get the hell out of my way.

Instead the stupid thing lunges for me. It's wounded and weak, clear as day, somebody having no doubt kicked the metaphorical stuffing out of it, but it still wants to pick a fight. It still wants to kill. It still wants to feed.

And it does just that, its beak tearing into my body. Only the pour thing becomes confused as I shatter apart like glass, the shards fading away like I was never there.

Human, Faunus or Grimm. They all fall for that trick. By the time this monster was moving so was I. Now I kneel atop its head, my umbrella held above its cranium. It wanted to kill me. That's all these Grimm want to do. But the feeling is mutual.

The hidden blade of my umbrella exposed, I push it down with both hands. The Grimm responds with a roar of agony, the blade piercing its skull. It begins to convulse, the beast perhaps trying to throw me off with what little strength it has left.

I can appreciate that. I can sympathize. But I don't give a damn. I push down with all the strength I have left, my umbrella vanishing as it sinks further into the Grimm's head. The monster begins to fall then, its head hitting the ground as it finally loses all resistance. I feel the Grimm breath one last time, any movement within its body ending now and forever.

I move off the deceased monster with a grace unbecoming such a simple action. A foolish action, yeah, but I always make sure to show off around-

Damn it, he's got to be here.

I walk away from the Grimm, leaving behind my weapon for the moment. The monster will fade away as they all do upon death and I will recover it then. For now all that matters is one thing. Not my umbrella. Not Ruby Rose. Not Beacon. Not the White Fang. Not the Grimm. Not Cinder. Not even myself.

Where is he?

I kneel down as I my hands sift through the wreckage of the airship's bridge, tossing aside rubble and scrap metal with reckless abandon. The heat from the flame, the heat from the explosions, they singed my hands. I didn't care.

Where is he? Where?

He's got to be around here somewhere. Pinned under some rubble, unable to call for help. Maybe, just maybe. I pull out my scroll again, powering it up and ignoring the numerous amount of text messages I've received from Emerald. My thumb moves frantically across the screen, dialing in Torchwick's number. It's my last hope, to use the sound of his scroll to find him among this chaos we both helped cause.

Then I hear it. The sound. The ring tone. He's close! He's... he's behind me?

My breath is caught in my throat again and I force myself to breath as I shift my position. That's when I see him. And that's when I lost control of my breathing again.

Roman Torchwick's body laying atop the disheveled remains of the airship, my umbrella near him as a dark light begins to fade. He was... he was in the Grimm? It had eaten him? No, it's...

It's the truth. I can see it now as I slowly approach. Torchwick was right before my eyes, but not all of him. That... that monster had been digesting him even as I... I killed it.

My hands begin to curl inwards tightly, the pressure of my nails threatening to draw blood from the palms of my hands through even my gloves. I was too easy on that Grimm. I gave it a fast death. I should have.. I should have let it suffer for hours on end! I should have torn it apart with my bare hands! I should have stained this battlefield with its wretched blood!

My breathing is different now, I can feel it. No longer am I holding my breath due to a lack of control. No, I'm breathing too rapidly now, another sign that I have lost complete control of myself. Still, I just don't care. There's no room for that in me now. All I can do is approach Torchwick's body, noting that there is no movement within it.

He's gone. He's... He's...

As I kneel down beside his remains I can hear his scroll ringing within his coat. I want to answer it, I want to stop it, but I can't bring myself to make any form of contact. All I can do is stare at what remains of his face, a look of horror etched upon it.

Time loses all meaning once more. My body still. I don't know what to do. I don't know what the hell to do. All I want to do is blame that Ruby girl for his death but I know better. It was that Grimm. That stupid Grimm. I've already killed the monster that did this to Torchwick. I've had my revenge and I didn't even know it. And because of that... Because of that I've been denied everything. Even vengeance.

No. That's wrong. As I look around the fire around me, I realize that there is another who forced us into this, who brought us to this cruel fate.

 _"Neo!"_

His voice again. It claws at me, making me quell the embers of vengeance that dwell within me for a moment. When I was in danger, when he had thought my life forfeit, Torchwick had called out to me. I needed to... I have to...

My mouth began to open but no sound came out. I can feel it, my lips quivering as I tried to do what needs to be done. But there is nothing, just a clear sign that I am hollow inside.

I close my eyes then, my composure lost. Just as sorrow washes over me, I can feel the tears streaming down my face. How am I going to...? What am I going to...?

It s all changed. Everything. No more light, no more fun. My world has fallen into darkness and despair and I... I can't stop it. I can't be free of it.

I open my eyes then and look down at Roman once more. I push away any lingering doubts, any worthless feelings, and reach out to his remains. I pull his scroll out from his pocket and silence it at last. It's not enough, not at all. I look at his face again and something strikes me in a way I had not expected.

His hat. His hat was crooked. That just... no, that can't stay that way. I won't let it stay that way! I reach out for it in a panic, my fingers tugging on the brim of the hat and trying to make it fit as it had in his life. I leaned forward as I struggle with the hat, my face and his growing all the closer. I should look, I should accept what is before me, but I can't.

I'm acting like a fool and I can't let that slide. I close my eyes and force myself to stand up. It doesn't matter, the hat doesn't matter. He's dead. He's gone. That's all. I'm just being so... childish. I'm breathing heavily and only now do I notice that I had taken hold of my umbrella as I got back up, using it to steady myself as I stand on shaking legs. However, in my other hand, trembling as it was, I can see that my fingers are clasped around the brim of Torchwick's hat.

 _"Neo!"_

I glance down at him one last time, knowing that if I truly wish to pay him his respects, then there's only one way. He had called out my name and he deserved the same courtesy even if it was far too late. Tears streaking down from my eyes, I try once more. My mouth begins to move, my lips trembling.

"Roman..."


End file.
